Lease contracts are regulated by articles 1777-1850 in the new civil Code (which constitute Chapter V „Lease” of Title IX „Various special contracts” of Book V „On obligations”).
A lease is a convention by which a person, called a lessor, pledges to secure, for another person, called a lessee, temporary use of an asset in exchange for a price, called a rent.
The new civil Code regulates lease contracts in its art. 1777 and following, including several types of leases under this title, each having its own specific designation and rules:
a) rental, i.e. a lease in which the object consists of immobile and/or mobile assets (art. 1778 par. 1 new civil Code);
b) agricultural lease, i.e. a lease in which the object consists of agricultural assets (art. 1778 par. 1 new civil Code);
c) lease of spaces intended to host the activity of a professional (art. 1778 par. 3 new civil Code).
These contracts all have in common the fact that they are contracts that do not transfer any property rights (for none of them transfers any real rights on the asset or value that is object of the lessor’s performance to the lessee) and the fact that the counterperformance owed by the lessee is established per time unit (monthly rent, annual rent for agricultural property etc.).
This paper examines the general rules applicable to the lease of assets, which constitute, in some ways, the common law in terms of lease, since they are applied whenever other special, derogatory regulations are absent. However, whenever the law regulates (or will regulate) differently a certain issue, with regard to a certain contract (from the great family of leases), the special, derogatory norm from the common law shall be applied.